Sigma Alpha Iota

8 Winter 2022 • sai-national.org B eloved SAI sister Dixie Lou O'Connor Morris passed away on December 22nd at her home surrounded by family. Among her many years of service to the Fraternity, she served as National Vice President Extension from 1978-1987. In March 2017, the Kansas City Alumnae Chapter honored Dixie Lou for her 75th "Diamond" Anniversary as an SAI sister, celebrating a great milestone in her lifetime of service. On the 75 th anniversary of her initiation, Dixie Lou wrote in an e-mail to Executive Director Ruth Sieber Johnson: "On March 7, 1942, an excited 18-year-old named Dixie Lou O'Connor, was initiated into an organization that she has endeavored to serve every day since then. It has been a great journey, this seventy-five years with Sigma Alpha Iota." In those years, Dixie Lou served our fraternity at the national, province, and chapter levels, including: National Vice President, Extension (1978-1987); Pi Province President (1974-1978); Presiding Officer for the Region II Mini-Convention in Minneapolis in 1972; as assistant to the SAI Convention Chairman for the 1974 National Convention in Kansas City, MO; and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 75th Anniversary of SAI in Kansas City (Tau Chapter) in 1997. She attended every National Convention since 1965 until 2015. She was initiated by Tau Chapter at what is now the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music and served as President and Recording Secretary (Tau merged with Iota Sigma in 1959 and became Tau-Sigma Chapter). She received her Bachelor's of Music Education at the Kansas City Conservatory, her Master's of Music Education at Northwestern University, and completed graduate work at Colorado College, Southern Methodist University–Dallas, Kansas City Conservatory, Kansas State University, and in numerous workshops and seminars. Dixie Lou served the Kansas City Alumnae Chapter as President, Vice President Membership, Vice President Scholarship, Chaplain, Vice President, Ritual, Editor, Board Member at Large, Tau-Sigma Advisor, Scholarship Concert Manager, Assistant Scholarship Concert Manager, and was a Scholarship Concert Committee Member for over thirty years (1961–1996). Dixie Lou was awarded the Dorothy Whinery Special Leadership Award at the 2012 convention. The award is given for outstanding leadership at the national level. Her other awards included the Sword of Honor, Rose of Honor, Rose of Dedication, Diamond Sword, and Ring of Excellence. In addition, she and her husband Tom (an SAI Friend of the Arts), were great patrons of the arts in the Kansas City area. She was a private piano instructor, accompanist, church organist, and active member in the Musical Art Club, Kansas City Musical Club, and Women's Committee of the Conservatory. At the special 75th Anniversary celebration, which included a musicale and reception, Dixie Lou shared how important the Pan's Cottage project at the MacDowell Colony was to her, and the Kansas City Alumnae Chapter donated $75 in her honor to the Pan's Cottage Renovation Fund. Grace Notes Remembering Dixie Lou Morris' Service SAI Meliné Markarian passed away on January 7, 2022 at age 92. She served as an SAI Philanthropies, Inc. Board Member from 2006- 2009. Meliné Agavni Kulhanjian was born on July 9, 1929, in New York City to John and Mary Kulhanjian. She earned her Bachelors of Arts from the University of Miami School of Music, where she was Initiated into Sigma Alpha Iota by the Sigma Chi Chapter in 1947, and affiliated with the Miami Alumnae after graduating in 1951. She continued her studies in France at the Fontainebleau School of Music and then advanced her studies as a lyric soprano in Vienna, Austria. Meliné returned to Miami in 1954, as a Soprano Soloist at Temple Israel of Greater Miami, the oldest sanctuary in continuous use in Florida, and also the Soprano Soloist in All Souls Episcopal Church in Miami Beach. Through the years, she has held every office in the Miami Alumnae chapter – some twice – and earned the title of "Chapter Poet Laureate for Life." Although her primary membership was with the Miami Alumnae, she was also what she called an "in the area" member of the Boone (NC) and Fort Lauderdale (FL) chapters. She also served as Lambda Province Officer for 12 years and the Region V Coordinator for the Century Fund Drive. She and her physician husband Berge, an SAI Friend of the Arts, lived in Coconut Creek (Miami) during the winter and in Banner Elk (NC) during the summer. Working together all those years, Meliné was the Office Manager of Berge's practice in Hialeah until their retirement on June 1990. Meliné continued to perform as a featured soloist in the Greater Miami area, accompanied by her long- time collaborator, Mrs. Betty Rice. Meliné served on the Miriam Hayes School of Music Advisory Council at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, and was one of the driving forces behind the "AppalPIE" Scholarships (Appalachian Partners in Education). Meliné and Berge were members of the Founding Steering Committee of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies at Appalachian State. They endowed the Meliné Markarian Voice Scholarship at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Meliné was awarded the Sword of Honor, Diamond Sword of Honor, Rose of Honor, Rose of Dedication, and Ring of Excellence. Meliné Markarian's Passing

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